EDITO
The Creativity issue
To infinity and beyond!
Buzz Lightyear, an unintentional namesake of this magazine, is not simply stating his mission to explore the far
reaches of outer space, but also his yearning to transcend mundanity. Despite what the other characters may
tell him, he knows that he’s not just a toy...
John Lasseter and his creative team at Pixar (now part of the Walt Disney family) captured our imagination
in 1995 with Toy Story, the first feature-length computer-animated film. While other studios have
become content to rehash popular folktales, best-selling novels and old cinema classics, Pixar has
consistently produced original, high-quality entertainment. Beyond their technical achievements,
their stories are always fresh. And it is because of this freshness, creativity and originality, that the
moviegoing public rewards Pixar so handsomely: this summer’s Toy Story 3 has net an estimated
$400 million at the box office.
How do they do it?
Without delving into the metaphysical question of where ideas come from, there
is a lesson to be learned here and that is the paramountcy of creativity.
We traditionally distinguish between artists and everybody else, the
consumers of culture. We encourage artistic expression in traditional
forms - that is, the fine arts - while neglecting the potential
contribution of creativity in other fields. It is this line that we have
drawn between producers and consumers, between the creative
and the mundane that we, like Buzz Lightyear, must strive
to transcend.
As we explore throughout this issue of the Buzzz, our
society needs an infusion of creativity and innovation
during these challenging times, not only in the arts. If
we are to address the pressing issues of today and
tomorrow - and as a society achieve the same level of
success as Pixar - then we must all join the creative
class.
Enjoy the read!
To infinity and beyond,

GEF NEWS
Mimikry
I pierce needles into my eyes,
to see the same way as you.

A creative education?

Clog up my mouth and my ears,
to know the same things as you.
I cut my flesh, it scars over,
to feel the same pain as you.

Creativity is an important part of an all-around education and
it can stimulate our appetite to learn. However, it has often
been treated like a ‘second-order priority’ in many schools
and universities, which run under the pressure to respect
high academic standards. The traditional understanding of
‘teaching’ is to give students information to memorise, instead
of confronting them with problems to analyse on their own.
Schools, and to some extent universities too, expect students
to imitate. For students, imitation is the often the surest way to
good marks, while originality is a gamble.
The European Year of Creativity and Innovation (2009) was
supposed to change all this. There is so rarely follow-up on the
thematic years, it seems, but we want to know: just what has
been done? Has creativity really entered schools and universities?
It would be wrong to assume that the entire school system has
undergone a fundamental reform.… But in our own search, we
have found some examples of good practice.

For students, imitation
is the often the surest
way to good marks,
while originality
is a gamble.
German-speaking students from all over the world can
participate in a monthly poetry competition, of which the best
poems are published at the end of every month. The project
encourages students to deal more with lyric poetry and finally
write their own texts.
www.dradio.de/dlf/ > Lyrix

The ‘Hear my voice’ project unites teachers, artists and students
in an attempt to get a better understanding of the Holocaust
through music, literature and the visual arts. After doing research,

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I break my legs, disable myself,
want to be lazy like you.
Then I tie up my hands,
to act the same way as you.
I freeze my feelings deep down,
to feel the same way as you.
Next I try to stop thinking,
to accomplish as much as you did.
Try to grasp, but can’t understand
how one can act like you do.

meeting former victims and reading about the Holocaust, students
either perform in a musical or make a film about it.
www.hmyv.org.uk

In Estonia, the ‘Big Dipper’ science bus visits schools and offers
more innovative teaching techniques. University students carry
out the programme and are viewed as ‘older friends’ rather than
teachers by the school students. They make the students feel
like scientists themselves, which encourages them to continue
studying these subjects at university.
www.teadusbuss.ee

Generation Europe Foundation, too, has contributed to the
aim of fostering creativity in the classroom. Our project ‘Mind
Your Rights’ - funded by the European Commission - proposes
analytical, interactive and artistic exercises to teachers in order
to teach young people about an otherwise potentially dry subject,
the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
www.mindyourrights.eu

A chance to attend
the Employment Week Forum – free!
Want to rub shoulders with the Chairman of Microsoft Europe,
the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, the EU Commissioner
for Employment and other bigwigs? You can! Tickets for the
Employment Week Forum, which takes place this year on 24-25
November in Brussels, normally go for hundreds of euros, but
Generation Europe Foundation has an in...

Also, the three winners of the Employing the NEXT Generation
survey competition will have the opportunity to present their
ideas to stakeholders and decision-makers present at the
conference. Watch our website for an announcement of the
winners!

GEF is looking for three volunteers to attend the Employment
Week Forum to take notes during the different sessions. In
exchange, they will gain free entrance to the event and the
chance to network with potential employers and policymakers.
Are you interested? Please send your CV to Arnaud Houdmont
(arnaud@generation-europe.eu).

Job Day Europe:
your future is in your hands!
GEF is once again partnering with Job Day Europe, the annual
recruitment event where you can meet employers and have onthe-spot job interviews. It’s also a unique opportunity to learn
more about the new skills needed for tomorrow’s careers.
There will be practical information on all aspects of mobility in
Europe, including opportunities to work abroad. Perhaps though
you prefer to stay in Brussels and work for a multicultural
company or within an organisation linked to the European
institutions. Whatever you are looking for, be prepared by
checking the programme and job listings on the website.
Online registration is easy and free. As for all Job Days events,
entrance is free as long as you bring at least ten copies of your CV
with you! The European labour market is full of often overlooked
opportunities.… Don’t let your chance at a great experience slip
through your fingers!
www.jobdays.eu
twitter.com/jobdayeurope

Update from the Green
Entrepreneurship (GreEn) Team
Our mission is to empower young people to find the sustainable
entrepreneurs within themselves in order to become agents of
change in their environment and the world.
Building an ambitious project to co-create a better future and
to foster change-making takes time! The framework is in place,
our objectives are clear and the land is fertile. We envision many
opportunities for the online Co-Creation Community to flourish
and, together with our partners and other stakeholders, to
contribute to a brighter future.
After much thought and consultation, we have decided to transform
the Youth Summit into a Forum on Green Entrepreneurship*. This
is an area that most people agree is critical.

*[Entrepreneur]: Anentrepreneur is willing to venture
into connecting or creating alternatives and pursuing
innovation to address the needs in her or his environment.
[Green]: For a truly sustainable future, not only our natural
environmental must be considered; economic, social and
personal needs must also be addressed.

Rather than hosting a large event in December, we will
instead invite ten young people on the basis of their online
contributions to attend a Co-Creation Workshop - a ‘workshopwith-a-difference’ - in Brussels. Together with entrepreneurs,
policymakers, the private sector and academics, they will explore
two fundamental questions:
- What is needed by young people to become active in the field
of green entrepreneurship?
- What will be our innovative and effective ways to respond to
these needs of the youth?
The workshop will also lay the foundations for the common
vision and ‘roadmap’ - which has been the guiding light of our
project since its inception in April. And meanwhile, our online
Co-Creation Community continues to spark inspiring dialogue
about sustainability issues and the future - constructively,
collaboratively and creatively.
www.generation-europe.eu/forum

Moscow, in the heat of summer
5000 square kilometres charred by wildfires, 53 people dead, 150
villages destroyed. In many cities, it was impossible to breath
because of the smog... Record high temperatures combined with
a prolonged dry spell produced a critical situation in Russia this
summer.
A number of foreign embassies had to withdraw their staff,
because it was too dangerous for them to stay in Moscow. All
means to fight the fires were mobilised. As the GEF Ambassador
in Russia, I would like to thank the EU Member States as well
as Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Turkey for
their help. Interestingly enough, the Russian Federation did not
ask for help and there are no official agreements on mutual
assistance, but the EU still gave €81,589 of humanitarian aid to
help 1700 Russian families who lost their homes and means to

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survive. Estonia alone donated €100,000. 471 foreign rescuers,
6 helicopters and 7 planes participated in the efforts. All Russians
appreciate this help, and many of us are ready to return the
favour.
A lot of lives were also saved thanks to large groups of volunteers,
bloggers, charity organisations and the Russian Orthodox Church,
who all collected and exchanged information. The wildfires
revealed, on the one hand, the need for interconnectedness and
mutual help in the modern world and, on the other hand, the
environmental and ecological problems in Russia. Hopefully, in
the future we will be able to cooperate as closely as possible
again, not only in case of disasters.

Zlata Kharitonova, GEF Ambassador in Russia

Giving hope through art
This summer, a group of volunteers and over two hundred
Palestinian children escaped the reality of life in Qalqilyah, a
small, isolated border town in the West Bank. The ‘escape’ was a
summer camp, organised by 12 Belgian and some 25 Palestinian
artists and volunteers, who offered workshops for children
in different disciplines: painting, photography, video, puppet
theatre, music, movement, drama, journalism.
I was one of the Belgian painters. It was my second visit to
Palestine, but my first time in Qalqilyah, a rural town of 40,000
people. The town has two main commercial roads with shops
and a big fruit market. The only place for distraction I saw is
the zoo; there is no theatre, no cinema, no museum, no place
to go out dancing, no access to the sea even though it is only
15 kilometres away. Leaving town is difficult, too. The Israeli
separation wall and fence (erected in 2003) encircle Qalqilyah
and separate it from agricultural lands; the only road out of town
leads through a checkpoint, which is controlled by Israeli soldiers.

Every morning passed like this, painting and singing with the
children at the school, until it got too hot. In the afternoon, we
visited other towns, talked to farmers in the villages or were
invited into the families of our Palestinian friends. Their stories
about life under the occupation affected and shocked us, but in
the evenings life went on, when we gathered around a water
pipe, talked and laughed and enjoyed the slight breeze… And
every morning when the muezzin called to prayer, we woke up
with new energy and were cheerful again with the kids, who - for
a little while - were able to escape their reality with creativity.

Annika, GEF team

www.artistes-contre-le-mur.org
http://dai.ly/aN1OOL

When the summer camp opened the first day, children came
from all over town and a few came also from the villages nearby.
It was a colourful mess in the courtyard, until every child found a
group and we could start working.
I was in a team with three young Palestinian women: one artist
and two assistants. The children in our group painted their
city, their portraits, Jerusalem, their shoes, flowers, animals,
etc. We taught them different techniques, such as drawing,
watercolours, pastels and collages. The overall topic was ‘Hope’,
so we encouraged the children to paint their hopes, to express
their dreams, to think of the hopes of other groups in their
society, and to create a ‘tree of hope’, on the leaves of which they
wrote their best experiences in life which may repeat themselves
in the future.

/7

portrait
Christian
Engström
Member of the European
Parliament, Pirate Party (SE)
The Pirate Party could be characterised, on the one hand, as a single-issue
party focused on copyright reform. On the other hand, however, the Pirate
Party has been portrayed as libertarian, while you actually sit with the
Greens-EFA in the European Parliament. Can you help make sense of this
picture?
‘Free file sharing and protected privacy’ is the quickest way to summarise
our party programme, but of course those few words don’t tell the whole
picture.
The internet and new computer technology are the biggest thing that has
happened to mankind since the printing press appeared 500 years ago,
possibly bigger. There are untold new opportunities, but also dangers that
we need to be aware of.
The new technology gives us access to all of mankind’s culture and
knowledge just one mouse click away, but the same technology can also
be used to create a surveillance state beyond nightmares. Which way we
choose will be a political decision.
This is a question of freedom vs. control rather than left or right. In this
dimension, both Greens and libertarians can be found on the freedom side,
which is why I feel equally at home among both.

How does copyright law impact, for better or for worse, creativity and the
spread of culture?
The stated purpose of copyright is to promote the creation of new works, so
that there is more culture for all of us to enjoy. Instead, today’s copyright is
a major obstacle to people wanting to create new works. All culture builds
on previous culture, and the more intellectual property rights expand, the
more difficult it becomes to create new works to share without having an
in-house legal department.

/8

You have argued that musicians in the face of declining record sales can still make money from live concerts, but how do you see the
future of cinema and other art forms which do not have such an obvious alternative revenue source at hand?
The Pirate Party wants to legalise non-commercial file sharing, but we want to keep copyright for commercial purposes. Cinemas,
television licenses, and online and DVD sales would still be covered by copyright, just like today. Those revenue streams would still be
there.
If and when the market changes because of free file sharing, the film companies will have to adapt if they want to stay in business, but
that’s just how it is to run a business.
The economic statistics for the last ten years show that people are spending as much money (or slightly more) on culture, regardless
of the fact that file sharing on the net has exploded since the advent of Napster in 1999. If some of the corporations that dominated
the previous century are making less money, it means that other players are making more. That’s called a market economy, and that’s
how it should be.

Are Creative Commons and the open source movement, both of which operate within the existing legal framework, ends in and of
themselves or stepping stones to reform?
Both. The Creative Commons licenses encourage people to experience the joy of creating and sharing works, which is great in itself. But
the more people get accustomed to a world where there is no sharp dividing line between artists and audience, the stronger the calls
for copyright reform will become.
The open source movement is absolutely essential for preserving freedom on the net. If there were no open alternatives available
in practice, we would still be locked in no matter how many beautiful principles we formulated in laws. But it is also the open source
movement that opened everybody’s eyes (including mine) to the dangers of software patents, so they are an important force for political
change as well.
It’s win-win in both cases.

Is there a trade-off between the right to privacy and the enforcement of intellectual property rights (copyright, etc.) in the digital age?
Yes, and this is a fundamental point. If there is a way to send messages in private, people will use it to share copyrighted material. If we
want to stop this, we have to end the right to send messages in private. There is no middle ground, and society has to choose.
We think the right to private correspondence is more important, so
we choose copyright reform.

Piracy and file sharing are issues which resonate with young people,
and the youth branch of the Pirate Party is strong. What advice do
you have for young people who would like to exercise their political
voices?
Get involved as an activist! The internet is an absolutely fantastic
platform for political activism, and thanks to the openness anybody
who wants can get involved in any way he or she likes. I myself got
accidentally dragged into politics by getting more and more involved
as an activist against software patents in 2004-2005, and I was
fascinated by how fun it was to be part of a swarm on the net working
towards a common goal. And we won the battle, which proves you
can.

/9

GLOBAL
PERSPECTIVE
IPR: legal aid or hindrance?
Everyone’s seen it. It’s not like we are
given a choice: when we finally sit down
to watch a DVD in the comfort of our own
home, we are invariably reminded that
downloading a movie is really the same
as stealing an old lady’s television… and
you wouldn’t steal an old lady’s television,
now would you?
Copyright law exists to maintain a
balance between the rights of creative
professionals and the rights of
consumers. Artists have the right to
be fairly compensated for their work,
while the public has the right to access
culture and knowledge. Over the past
ten years, intellectual property rights
(IPR) - copyrights, patents, trademarks,
etc. - have become the subject of a fierce
debate.
At the heart of the debate is the question
of whether IPR encourages or stifles
research and creativity. In essence,
how does an economy best promote
innovation? The internet has fuelled
the debate by blurring the traditional
distinction between creators and
consumers. Nowadays, it is just as easy
to download content as it is to publish
online.
The question of whether IPR hampers
innovation is not limited to the creative
industries, however. In fact, the divergent
views are best illustrated by a case study

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such as the AIDS pandemic. Because they
are prohibitively expensive, treatments
that could save millions of lives are not
readily available in developing countries.
Generic versions could theoretically
be made available at a fraction of the
cost, except the chemical formulas
are protected by patents belonging to
the pharmaceutical companies that
developed the drugs.
But, or so the argument goes, simply
abolishing patents on life-saving drugs
would exacerbate the problem at hand
because if it wasn’t for patents, the drugs
would never have been developed in the
first place. Why would any individual or
company spend the time, money and
energy on the development of a new
drug, if there’s no guaranteed return
on investment? Without IPR, anyone
would be free to reproduce an invention
at hardly any cost once it has been
initially developed. Following this train of
thought, logically companies would lose
all incentive to invest in research and
development.
Critics argue that IPR is actually a form
of ‘intellectual monopoly’ with all the side
effects that entails. What’s more, several
creative industries, such as the food and
fashion industries, are thriving without
the protection of IPR. It’s entirely possible
to sell a product regardless of whether
someone is copying it…

So, where does that leave us? If
competition and knowledge transfer are
both essential to innovation, what form
should IPR take? We need to strike the
right balance. As important as this debate
is for our society and economy, it seems
unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. In
the meantime, sit back, relax and enjoy
the movie. Just leave the television set
where you found it.

Social games for social good
Roger Ebert, a long-time American film
critic, ignited a fiery debate earlier this year
when he wrote, ‘Video games can never
be art”’. Yet, video games are undeniably
part of our modern culture, incorporating
various forms of creative expression complex narratives, graphic and sound
design, screen and voice acting, etc. - into
a cohesive whole. A growing number of
games are, in turn, influencing our wider
culture; this feedback can be seen in
movies, music and even fashion. Ebert is
not the only naysayer, though.

and, more importantly, to draw their
friends into the action.

Another complaint commonly levelled
against video games is that they are a
mindless distraction with no redeeming
social value, an escape into a fictive
world divorced from real problems. New
trends in ‘social gaming’ are putting that
assertion to the test, however. Social
games, such as Farmville and Mafia Wars,
have sprung up in recent years around
Facebook and other social networks.
These games are designed to allow users
to play for only a few minutes at a time

Village Raffles, to be launched this
autumn, is the first in a series of planned
releases from SoshiGames. These games
are being designed from the ground up
to help raise awareness - and money for good causes. The premise of Village
Raffles is simple. As the name implies,
players win prizes by entering raffles. The
player is then rewarded by completing
treasure collections, visiting different
locations and entering raffles that are
also associated with social causes. The

SoshiGames is a newcomer to this field.
The UK-based company offers a creative
twist by tying gameplay to social causes.
While ‘playing with a purpose’ might
sound like an oxymoron, a contradiction
in terms, the model has already been
proven by Farmville players who donated
$1.5 million to help the relief efforts in
Haiti through the purchase of in-game
virtual goods.

Year of Chopin:
music to our ears
Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2 is
perhaps one of the most famous songs in
the classical piano repertoire, recognisable
from the opening melody, which is woven
throughout the piece with increasingly
elaborate ornamentation. Born on
1 March 1810 outside of Warsaw, this
year marks the 200th anniversary of the
composer’s birth, and to celebrate Poland
has proclaimed this the Year of Chopin.
Although he is being commemorated
for his contribution to Polish national

identity, Chopin made a global impact on
our musical culture.
While 2010 is now more than halfway
over, there are still plenty of events on
the calendar - recitals, concerts and
competitions, not only in Poland but
around the world. New recordings,
books and films are set to be released in
conjunction with the Year of Chopin. The
Polish Ministry of Culture and National
Heritage, the institution behind the

funds raised through the game will be
directed, for example, toward clean water
in Africa, refugee assistance and local
community action.
‘Social games for social good’, like Village
Raffles, might not put to rest the debate
over video games as an art form, but they
are a convincing riposte to those who
question the social benefits of gaming.
Get your game on!

www.soshigames.com
twitter.com/soshigames

yearlong celebration, has also made
plenty of free resources available online,
including an educational game and a
downloadable audio guide to Chopin’s
Warsaw.
Chopin can rightly be described as a child
prodigy; he began formally studying the
piano at the age of six and wrote his first
piece of music shortly thereafter. He
drew inspiration from traditional Polish
music, but his accomplishments as
both a musician and composer still raise
questions about innate talent and the
source of creativity.
http://chopin2010.pl/
www.youtube.com/ChopinYear2010

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eu
in
focus
Your Europe, Your Say
The EESC, what’s that!? In discussing EU
decision-making, academics and pundits
often refer to the ‘institutional triangle’
- the Commission, Parliament and
Council - but this illustration lacks some
nuance. There are also two consultative
bodies whose opinion, while not binding,
is nevertheless required in many policy
fields. The Committee of the Regions is
one, and the European Economic Social
Committee (EESC) is the other.
Instead of reading up on what it does (‘a
bridge between Europe and organised
civil society’), young people have the
opportunity to experience firsthand
the work of the EESC. If you like to
discuss issues and stand up for what
you believe, if you enjoy negotiating and
finding consensus, if you think roleplaying sounds fun… then this invitation
is for you!

The invitation is open to students in their
second-to-last year of school. Three
students from each EU Member State
- accompanied by a teacher, of course will have the opportunity to discuss and
vote on an EESC opinion. The next youth
plenary session, which goes by the name
‘Your Europe, Your Say’, takes place in
Brussels from 5-7 May 2011.

But that’s just the culmination! Schools
selected to participate will be visited by
a Committee member, who will explain
the role of the EESC in the institutional
architecture, its working methods, as
well as his or her personal experiences.
Want to be a Committee member for
two days? Then ask your teachers to
sign up your school straightaway!

The timeline
1. Application period: from early October until 30 November 2010
2. Schools selected by lottery: December 2010
3. EESC members visit schools: January-March 2011
4. Youth plenary session in Brussels: 5-7 May 2011

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The Un-Presidency
It is only fitting that Belgium - home to
René Magritte, Paul Delvaux and other
famous surrealists - has upturned
tradition by staging an EU Presidency
recognisable in name only. Whereas
the rotating presidency was once an
occasion for national grandstanding,
Belgium’s plans for its six months at the
helm are considerably more subdued.
But then again, that was exactly the
intention of the Lisbon Treaty.
For Belgium, the transition between
the Nice and Lisbon Treaty regimes is
now over; the country has consciously
set about to avoid the gaffes of the
Spanish Presidency, like jostling for the
limelight with the EU’s new leadership
tandem. That Belgium is currently run by

a caretaker government only encourages
this step back from the forefront, and
it helps that Herman Van Rompuy,
President of the European Council, was
plucked from Belgian politics.
What then can be expected from
the Belgian Presidency? Economic
governance, financial regulation and the
EU2020 strategy naturally figure high on
the agenda, but the common thread that
winds through many of the priorities is
green. A ‘green knowledge economy’ to
promote growth and competitiveness,
boosting employment with ‘green jobs’,
and pushing ahead at the next UN
Climate Change Conference in Cancún,
Mexico this winter.

In terms of foreign policy, the Belgian
Presidency will take direction from
the High Representative, Catherine
Ashton, with particular attention paid
to the enlargement process and the
new European External Action Service
(EEAS). Already by the end of July, leaders
agreed on the overall structure of the
EEAS and to formally open membership
negotiations with Iceland.

www.eutrio.be
twitter.com/BE_Presidency

The language arts
While language learning is often
regarded as utilitarian - the route to a
more lucrative career or less stressful
holiday abroad - language, the spoken
and written word, is an art. It is our
most common form of expression and
means of communication. Although
sound bites have dulled our appreciation
for lengthy oratory, we do celebrate

accomplishments in literature. But how
often do we reflect on language in broad
terms? One occasion is the European
Day of Languages, an annual event held
on 26 September.
The EU officially recognises 23 languages
and promotes the goal of ‘mother tongue
+ 2’. What is the advantage of learning
two foreign languages? The answer is
often simply stated as:
globalisation, but that still
leaves a lot to unpack.
We need to learn more
languages in response
to changing patterns of
business and migration,
or so goes the argument.
Yet,
globalisation
is
usually perceived as a

homogenizing force, which in terms
of languages would imply the world is
converging towards one lingua franca.
And, indeed, 51% of Europeans already
speak English either as their mother
tongue or as a foreign language. Is
English not enough? Or is it because of
globalisation that we need to learn more
languages to preserve local culture?
In any case, globalisation seems to be a
utilitarian reason for language learning.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that
we don’t often hear the case for the
language arts as such. How about it, wie
viele Sprachen sprechen Sie?
http://edl.ecml.at/
facebook.com/group.
php?gid=13428601547

4,600
The hours of footage uploaded to a special YouTube channel for the ‘Life in a Day’ project,
far exceeding expectations. Saturday, 24 July 2010, might well become known as one of
the best documented days in history. Some 80,000 videographers from around the world
responded to the call to capture moments from that window of time.
All of those hours of raw footage will be whittled down into an 80-minute documentary
film, edited by Kevin Macdonald and produced by Ridley Scott. It will be an immense
challenge, even for those Hollywood heavyweights, to create a cohesive storyline from
the submissions, but anybody whose clip is used in the final cut will be credited as a
co-director.
‘Life in a Day’ will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in January. Early results
will be available on YouTube starting in September, as eventually will be the end product.
www.youtube.com/lifeinaday

“Racism and
xenophobia have
no place in Europe.”

quote

José Manuel Barroso,
President of the European Commission
For a speech billed as the ‘State of the (European) Union’, it sure was a low-key
affair. Even within Brussels circles, few seemed to be aware of President Barroso’s
opening address to the European Parliament after the summer recess until only
days beforehand; party leaders at one point threatened MEPs with a slap on
the wrist - withholding a portion of their daily allowance - for not attending the
debate, only to back down in the end.
With a title borrowed from the US President’s annual address to Congress, a
primetime media event, it is difficult not to draw comparisons with the American
homologue. Perhaps most telling are the audience reactions.
The US President is frequently interrupted by standing ovations, but President
Barroso was able to rush through his speech without really pausing. He received
the warmest applause for his indirect reference to the deportation of Roma from
France, a broad affirmation that ‘racism and xenophobia have no place in Europe’.
Although crowd pleasing, his words somehow rang hollow, following the
Commission’s tepid reaction to the Roma situation over the summer. Where was
the outrage? Who is supposed to uphold the European Union as a community of
values? What about the principles of non-discrimination and equal treatment?

Credit: European Parliament

competitions'
corner
Europa Diary cover competition
What? A design competition
Preparations for the 2011-2012
edition of the Europa Diary, a European
Commission-funded project, are well
underway, and once again we are
running an open competition for the
cover design! And in the coming weeks,
you will be able to submit your designs
through our new Facebook application!
For whom? All EU citizens, no matter
your age!
Until when? 13 November 2010

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Mattia

Monika

Bergamini

Urbietyte

Lientje
Leflot

17 y. old

18 y. old

17 y. old

Italy

Lithuania

Belgium

Prizes: A â&#x201A;Ź500 cash prize will be
awarded for the top design, whilst
second through to fifth place will all
receive a smaller cash prize. The winner
will also be credited on the inside back
cover of the diary.

Staples Youth Social
Entrepreneurship Competition
What? Spotlight on changemakers
In the lead up to TEDxYSE (TED, the
lecture series, and YSE for young social
entrepreneurship), young leaders
who, through their own initiative,
have created positive change in their
community or the world at large are
asked to share their stories.
For whom? Anybody between the ages
of 12 and 24.

/ 16

Until when? There is no strict deadline.
Entries are evaluated on a rolling basis.
The sooner, the better!
Prizes: Up to two members from each of
the eight winning teams will be invited
to Washington, D.C. for TEDxYSE on
13 November 2010, all expenses paid.
An as-of-yet unannounced grand prize
will also be awarded.